200 Watt Pedal Board amp with EQ and compressor - Baroni Labs

[moon-bass]

Like many bass players, I've been on a quest to find the latest and lightest amps - I've bought and sold a ton of stuff, and a few weeks ago came across this:

Baroni – Fox Gear Distribution

It's a pedal sized 200 watt amp - with a compressor! Light weight and supposed to sound great - sound too good to be true? Read on!

First, it does deliver. It reminds me of the 200 watt Warwick Gnome from a tone, capability, and loudness capability. It gets plenty loud! More bass and more sizzle than the TE Elf, and the compressor is actually functional (to a certain extent).

It's definitely super portable - the power supply is big (no wall wart - it's like a laptop power supply). It's not heavy, and it sounds great! A few more notes, pros and cons -

The compressor is defeatable. IMO it sounds like a decent optical compressor (almost the same feel - but not quality of course - as my PC-2A). There is a definite volume bump if the compressor is defeated, but the tone is punchier with the compressor "in."

The EQ is quite functional and sounds great. It's 3.5x5" in size.

A lot of the smaller amps that I have tried seemed to lack low end, like there is a built in HPF or something - it's very noticeable in the Elf and the GK mini amps, the bass seems to roll off below 120hz. There is none of that here! That being said, this benefits from having a HPF at around 60-80hz if you want to get more clean power out of it.

No harsh clipping like on some other smaller amps. That being said, the amp does OD quite nicely - it's got a nice medium clip to it if you want to add a bit of dirt.

Now THAT being said, the biggest drawback that I can find is that the input is very hot - I wish it had a pad or something. Sounds great with any passive bass and most of my actives, but I found it very easy to over drive with my two Sterlings (both of which are very high output).

I wish it had Neutrik and an XLRT out, but those are minor quibbles. All in all, a nice little piece of gear.

 

[Parzival]

 

[bumble yeti]

Interesting…
Like to see/hear a review.

 

[moon-bass]

Interesting…
Like to see/hear a review.

I'll try and get one up later this week.

 

[bherman]

a definite turn off for me on units like this, and some of the smaller amps, like Phil Jones, is the requirement for separate power supply. Kind of defeats the whole point in my opinion

 

[abarson]

a definite turn off for me on units like this, and some of the smaller amps, like Phil Jones, is the requirement for separate power supply. Kind of defeats the whole point in my opinion

Then you're pretty much back to a TE Elf.

 

[bherman]

Then you're pretty much back to a TE Elf.

Perhaps, if that is what I was looking for. The whole idea of a pedalboard-based amp makes no sense to me, if something needs to be adjusted during or inbetween a song, then I'm crouching down to reach the dials. I have no problem with my amp head on top of speaker cabs.

 

[moon-bass]

Perhaps, if that is what I was looking for. The whole idea of a pedalboard-based amp makes no sense to me, if something needs to be adjusted during or inbetween a song, then I'm crouching down to reach the dials. I have no problem with my amp head on top of speaker cabs.

To each their own, and not every amp is for everyone. I rarely adjust my amp between songs unless I'm changing basses, and even then it's a moot point if I twist a knob on an amp on a cab or on a pedal.

 

[Jazzdogg]

Perhaps, if that is what I was looking for. The whole idea of a pedalboard-based amp makes no sense to me, if something needs to be adjusted during or inbetween a song, then I'm crouching down to reach the dials. I have no problem with my amp head on top of speaker cabs.

What appeals to me is not a pedal board amp, but a small amp and a small pre-amp, both of which atop a small 1x8 cab; large components are too big!

 

[bherman]

You mean something like this? Traynor Small Block 200, Wizzy 110. Whole thing weighs 20 lbs in a tiny footprint.

 

[Jazzdogg]

You mean something like this? Traynor Small Block 200, Wizzy 110. Whole thing weighs 20 lbs in a tiny footprint.
View attachment 5358273

Yep. I am currently using an Acoustic Image Focus atop a Crazy8 built from composite by Mike Arnopol. Combined weight 18 pounds.
Unfortunately, now that AI has shuttered operations, I'm finding it difficult to find small bass amps that have a variable high-pass filter and can safely push a 2 Ohm load.

 

[bherman]

Yep. I am currently using an Acoustic Image Focus atop a Crazy8 built from composite by Mike Arnopol. Combined weight 18 pounds.
Unfortunately, now that AI has shuttered operations, I'm finding it difficult to find small bass amps that have a variable high-pass filter and can safely push a 2 Ohm load.

Yeah, seems to be a hole in the market right now. Mesa Subway 350 comes closest but doesn't have the hpf. And the Wizzy cab that I just picked up is also out of production.

 

[Jazzdogg]

Yeah, seems to be a hole in the market right now. Mesa Subway 350 comes closest but doesn't have the hpf. And the Wizzy cab that I just picked up is also out of production.

Nor is the 350 2-Ohm capable

 

[agedhorse]

Yeah, seems to be a hole in the market right now. Mesa Subway 350 comes closest but doesn't have the hpf. And the Wizzy cab that I just picked up is also out of production.

Nor is the 350 2-Ohm capable

Correct, as amps become smaller, there's less room to place additional controls and at low powers there is very little player demand for 2 ohm capabilities. It's the more powerful amps that are generally beneficial (for most players) to drive 2 ohm loads.

 

[bherman]

Correct, as amps become smaller, there's less room to place additional controls and at low powers there is very little player demand for 2 ohm capabilities. It's the more powerful amps that are generally beneficial (for most players) to drive 2 ohm loads.

Agree with you on this - fortunately the Wizzy is a 4 ohm cab so able to take advantage of all of the 200 watts from the Traynor. My mistake on the SW350, I assumed since the 800s are all 2 ohm capable that the little guy would be also. But if I needed 2 ohm capability, any of the 800s would do the job.

 

[agedhorse]

The small single driver 4 ohm cabinets are also oddities, that really limits what can be connected to it if the need arises. They are really suited for the 200 watt and under class amps.

 

[moon-bass]

After a few weeks with this, it's a pretty cool piece of gear. It sounds great - the EQ is very responsive. Of course, it's super portable, and it's louder than it has any right to be.

One thing that I can say is that it benefits from an HPF. It reminds me of how an Elf and the TC Electronics et al stuff works - you'll get more volume as you increase the frequency of the HPF.

If you can put up with my noodling, I made two videos. The first is HPF free, the second is with an HPF set relatively low. It's pretty loud - the rattling that you hear are the pics shaking on the walls.

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[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[SocialSpit]

I bought one of these last year, I’ve had it for almost a year. I love every bit of it, it is probably the best bass sound I have ever gotten, totally clean.

I was able to play along with a guitar player who uses two 100 W Marshall JCM 2000’s- and still hear myself, although I did have to turn the Baroni all the way up. I did this for about a month until I finally broke down and found myself a used Carvin PB500.

I was plugging into two cabinets using an adapter that allowed me to use parallel outputs, there is only one output on the device and it does not work very well when you plug into two cabinets in series, when I used the parallel adapter, I got much more power. One 4x10 cab and one 15” cab, I think they are Kings. There is not really any branding on them, so I am not sure who made them. But I have tried many different heads through those cabinets, The best sound was from the Baroni, but the device in my opinion is just too delicate to use at live shows, even at band practices, you have to be careful. You would have to have it mounted somewhere with the power supply already hooked up, and the AC plug connected into a switchable extension. And then you would have to make sure there is no possibility of anything or anybody accidentally disconnecting the power supply going into the device. And since the device is designed to be used on your Pedalboard, the probability of accidental disconnection is high… IF The device is anywhere near your other pedals.

And the problem with driving the Baroni at high volume is that after about an hour, the unit gets very hot, and it appears to have some kind of protection, it will turn the speaker output off momentarily, I have had this happen a couple of times toward the end of practices. Only when the device gets extremely hot. But since I can’t find many Baroni users or any Baroni support websites or phone numbers, I don’t really know exactly what is going on when the speaker cuts off.

When I am not having to drive the unit at full volume, it does not overheat, and it stays powered up without any interruption in output signal for as many hours as I need.

And I have got to say this is probably the best recording amp that I have ever had. I have a kit-built Thunderbird “clone” that has a pretty good sound and also my 1980 Ricky 4003. I think I used the TBird clone for this Mashup we did:



Now the biggest problem with “Pedalboard amps” like this is, of course they have an external power supply that are sometimes almost larger than the unit itself. Which is the case with this: it requires a 40 V DC power supply running at 5 A. And the power connector on the device is not very good, and it’s even worse on the power supply, the plug is weak. A good thing to do if you buy one of these things is to have a decent electronics repair install a better connection, A tiny piece of plastic came loose in my power supply plug, which makes the power connection unsteady. I have found a replacement plug, but I’m going to have to have an electric shop rewire it for me.

The other problem is there is no power switch on the power supply transformer, or on the device itself. So you basically have to plug in to some kind of extension cable that has power, so you can power the device on and off from there, because plugging the device in with power connected to the power supply will cause a huge spark, I did this a few times before I trained myself to make sure the power was not connected when I hooked the device to the power supply. Also, after you unplug the transformer from power, the device holds an electrical charge for maybe a minute so you have to wait before you can disconnect the power supply from the unit.

I have been looking for replacement power supplies that are 40vDC at 5 A, and I found a couple that are close, but nothing that would actually work. So if the power supply goes out, then you will not be able to use the device.

But on the whole, The quality of sound that I get out of my speaker when I am just noodling at home or going straight into my Digi 001 through the DI output, it’s just well worth the amount of care is that I have to use when using this device.

If anybody knows of any companies that do repair for Baroni devices, I would welcome that information.

 

[SocialSpit]

I bought one of these last year, I've had it for almost a year. I love every bit of it, it is probably the best bass sound I have ever gotten, totally clean.

I was able to play along with a guitar player who uses two 100 W Marshall JCM 2000's- and still hear myself, although I did have to turn the Baroni all the way up. I did this for about a month until I finally broke down and found myself a used Carvin PB500.

I was plugging into two cabinets using an adapter that allowed me to use parallel outputs, there is only one output on the device and it does not work very well when you plug into two cabinets in series, when I used the parallel adapter, I got much more power. One 4x10 cab and one 15" cab, I think they are Kings. There is not really any branding on them, so I am not sure who made them. But I have tried many different heads through those cabinets, The best sound was from the Baroni, but the device in my opinion is just too delicate to use at live shows, even at band practices, you have to be careful. You would have to have it mounted somewhere with the power supply already hooked up, and the AC plug connected into a switchable extension. And then you would have to make sure there is no possibility of anything or anybody accidentally disconnecting the power supply going into the device. And since the device is designed to be used on your Pedalboard, the probability of accidental disconnection is high… IF The device is anywhere near your other pedals.

And the problem with driving the Baroni at high volume is that after about an hour, the unit gets very hot, and it appears to have some kind of protection, it will turn the speaker output off momentarily, I have had this happen a couple of times toward the end of practices. Only when the device gets extremely hot. But since I can't find many Baroni users or any Baroni support websites or phone numbers, I don't really know exactly what is going on when the speaker cuts off.

When I am not having to drive the unit at full volume, it does not overheat, and it stays powered up without any interruption in output signal for as many hours as I need.

And I have got to say this is probably the best recording amp that I have ever had. I have a kit-built Thunderbird "clone" that has a pretty good sound and also my 1980 Ricky 4003. I think I used the TBird clone for this Mashup we did:



Now the biggest problem with "Pedalboard amps" like this is, of course they have an external power supply that are sometimes almost larger than the unit itself. Which is the case with this: it requires a 40 V DC power supply running at 5 A. And the power connector on the device is not very good, and it's even worse on the power supply, the plug is weak. A good thing to do if you buy one of these things is to have a decent electronics repair install a better connection, A tiny piece of plastic came loose in my power supply plug, which makes the power connection unsteady. I have found a replacement plug, but I'm going to have to have an electric shop rewire it for me.

The other problem is there is no power switch on the power supply transformer, or on the device itself. So you basically have to plug in to some kind of extension cable that has power, so you can power the device on and off from there, because plugging the device in with power connected to the power supply will cause a huge spark, I did this a few times before I trained myself to make sure the power was not connected when I hooked the device to the power supply. Also, after you unplug the transformer from power, the device holds an electrical charge for maybe a minute so you have to wait before you can disconnect the power supply from the unit.

I have been looking for replacement power supplies that are 40vDC at 5 A, and I found a couple that are close, but nothing that would actually work. So if the power supply goes out, then you will not be able to use the device.

But on the whole, The quality of sound that I get out of my speaker when I am just noodling at home or going straight into my Digi 001 through the DI output, it's just well worth the amount of care is that I have to use when using this device.

If anybody knows of any companies that do repair for Baroni devices, I would welcome that information.

Apologies for the double post. There was no way to edit. Pictures in situ. The 40-Vdc 5-A Beast of a power supply.

I just got in there and removed any broken crud from the power pin and now it goes all the way into the device. It should work like this until I can get a new connector for the power supply.

 

[franvarin]

This is intriguing. I have a Gnome i Pro which is great for practice and recording. I also have a couple of pedal sized preamps, but wht the lack of a effects loop, I'm forced to go from the preamp into the input. I'd love to be able to bypass the preamp on the Gnome and just use it as a reall small power amp. That would fit my needs nicely. The cost of just power amps is crazy high and they're huge with a lot of empty space in the chasis. Seems to me there's a market for micro amps with an effects loop... or just an input that by passes the preamp, perhaps controlled by a switch so that they don't have to take up room with jacks for an effects loop. If something like that at the price point of the Gnome were available, I'd jump on it.

As an aside, my Gnome pushes a vintage Ampeg 4x10 with no problem.